Chia seeds are among the healthiest foods on the planet.
They are loaded with nutrients that can have important benefits for your body and brain.
Here are 10 Powerful Reasons Why You Should Eat Chia Seeds with scientific research.1. Chia Seeds Deliver a Massive Amount of Nutrients With Very Few Calories
Chia seeds are tiny black seeds from the plantS alvia Hispanica, which is related to the mint.
This plant grows natively in South America.
Chia seeds were an important food for the Aztecs and Mayans back in the day.
They prized them for their ability to provide sustainable energy… in fact, “chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength.”
Despite their ancient history as a dietary staple, only recently did chia seeds become recognized as a modern day superfood.
In the past few years, they have exploded in popularity and are now consumed by health conscious people all over the world.This is what chia seeds look like:
2. Chia Seeds Are Loaded With Antioxidants
Another area where chia seeds shine is in their high amount of antioxidants (3, 4).
These antioxidants protect the sensitive fats in the seeds from going rancid (5).
Although antioxidant supplements are not very effective, getting antioxidants fromfoods can have positive effects on health (6).
Most importantly, antioxidants fight the production of free radicals, which can damage molecules in cells and contribute to ageing and diseases like cancer (7, 8).
There are some claims online about chia seeds having more antioxidants than blueberries, but I was unable find a study to verify this claim.3. Almost All The Carbs in Them Are Fiber
Looking at the nutrition profile of chia seeds, you see that an ounce has 12 grams of “carbohydrate.”
However… 11 of those grams are fiber, which isn’t digested by the body.
Fiber doesn’t raise blood sugar, doesn’t require insulin to be disposed of and therefore shouldn’t count as acarb.
The true carb content is only 1 gram per ounce, which is very low. This makes chia a low-carb friendly food.
Because of all the fiber, chia seeds can absorb up to 10-12 times their weight in water, becoming gel-like and expanding in your stomach (9).
Theoretically, this should increase fullness, slow absorption of your food and help you automatically eat fewer calories.
Fiber also feeds the friendly bacteria in the intestine, which is important because keeping your gut bugs well fed is absolutely crucial for health (10).
Chia seeds are 40% fiber, by weight. This makes them one of the best sources of fiber in the world.4. Due to The High Fiber and Protein Content, Chia Seeds Should be Able to Help You Lose Weight
Many health experts believe that chia seeds can help with weight loss.
The fiber absorbs large amounts of water and expands in the stomach, which should increase fullness and slow the absorption of food (15).
There have been several studies on glucomannan, a fiber that works in a similar way, showing that it can lead to weight loss (16, 17).
Then the protein in chia seeds could help to reduce appetite and food intake.
Unfortunately, when the effects of chia seeds on weight loss have been studied, the results have been rather disappointing.
Although one study showed that chia seeds can reduce appetite, there was no significant effect on body weight (18).
In a study on 90 overweight people, 50 grams of chia seeds per day for 12 weeks had no effect on body weight or health markers (19).
In another 10 week study of 62 women, chia seeds had no effect on bodyweight but did increase the amount of Omega-3s in the blood (20).
Although just adding chia seeds to your diet is unlikely to affect your weight, I personally believe that they can be a useful addition.
A weight loss diet is about more than just adding or subtracting single foods. The entire diet counts, as well as other lifestyle behaviors like sleep and exercise.
When combined with a real food based diet and a healthy lifestyle, I can definitely see how chia seeds could help with weight loss.
Bottom Line: Chia seeds are high in protein and fiber, both of which have been shown to aid weight loss. However, the studies on chia seeds have not noted any effects on weight.
5. Skin & Aging
This past July, researchers from Mexico uncovered that chia seeds had a total natural phenolic (antioxidants) concentration nearly two times higher than previously reported, and the antioxidant activity was shown to stop up to 70% of free radical activity. (2)
Essentially proving that chia seeds are one of nature’s riches antioxidants. Antioxidants speed up the skin’s repair systems, and prevent further damage. Taking chia seeds can prevent premature skin aging due to inflammation free radical damage.
6. Chia Seeds May Improve Certain Blood Markers, Which Should Lower The Risk of Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes
Given that chia seeds are high in fiber, protein and Omega-3s, they should be able to improve metabolic health.
This has been tested in several studies, but the results have been inconclusive.
In two studies, a diet with chia seeds, soy protein, oats and nopal, has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, increase HDL cholesterol and reduce inflammation (23, 24).
Because these studies also used other ingredients, nothing can be concluded about the chia seeds themselves.
Rat studies have also shown that chia seeds can lower triglycerides, raise HDL (the “good”) cholesterol and reduce inflammation, insulin resistance and belly fat (25, 26).
However, a study that looked at just chia seeds did not note any improvements (20).
Overall… it is possible that chia seeds can improve these risk factors, but probably won’t have a major effect unless followed by other beneficial changes in the diet.Next: More Chia benefits
I add chia seeds to kefir and let them set soak over night then drink for breakfast.
I add them to smoothies. 🙂
Sprinkle on salads
Lemonade and chia…..